Fire/Rescue

Wakulla County Fire/Rescue provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) Emergency Patient Transport, Fire Suppression, Rescue, and Vehicle Extrication. These services are delivered from three Stations that are staffed 24 hours 7 days per week by professional Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians or Paramedics who are usually dually certified in both Fire and EMS. In 2016, we responded to over 3900 calls, utilizing the knowledge, skills and expertise of 25 full time and 14 part-time staff, 46 volunteer fire fighters and 48 volunteer support members. In addition to the three career-staffed Stations, there are ten additional Volunteer Fire Stations that house fire suppression equipment and trucks when needed in the outlying areas of the County. The career members and the Volunteer Fire Departments continue to work together as one team to protect the residents and visitors of Wakulla County..

Wakulla County Fire Rescue also provides Fire Prevention & Public Education services. As part of our Fire Prevention Program, Fire Rescue is committed to ensuring that our children learn about fire safety from a young age. We reach out to the local schools and childcare facilities to teach students fire safety and how to respond in an emergency. Fire Rescue also interacts with the Senior Citizens Center to provide smoke detector checks to citizens.

There are two main sources of funding for Fire/Rescue: the Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSBU) for fire services and EMS billing for emergency services and transport.

HISTORY

EMS was started in Wakulla County in 1972. It became the First Service in the Nation to have trained First Responders, and one of the first in Florida to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS). The first Volunteer Fire Department in Wakulla County started in 1966 when Ochlocknee Bay Volunteer Fire Department incorporated, with most others incorporating in the 1970’s. A full time professional fire department was established in 2007, and merged with EMS in 2010 to become Wakulla County Fire Rescue. In 2017, the Volunteer Fire Departments came under the umbrella of Wakulla County Fire Rescue to become one team fully united.

Emergency Management CoordinationThe Emergency Management Director works under the Sheriff of Wakulla County. The Wakulla Fire Chief is tasked with closely coordinating emergency preparation and response with this office.